The Block B-O Mon Project involves the integrated development of an upstream gas field and a midstream pipeline connecting to a gas fired thermal power plant complex in Vietnam.
The upstream gas field partners are Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN, operator, 42%); Petrovietnam Exploration Production (PVEP, a subsidiary of PVN, 27%); MOECO Vietnam Petroleum (MVP)/ MOECO Southwest Vietnam Petroleum (MSVP) (23%); and PTTEP Southwest Vietnam Company/PTTEP Kim Long Vietnam Company (8%).
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Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock (PV Gas, a subsidiary of PVN, 51%), PVN (operator, 29%), MOECO Southwest Vietnam Pipeline (15%), and PTTEP Southwest Vietnam Pipeline Company (5%) are the interest holders in midstream pipeline development.
Once operational, Block B-O Mon will support sustainable transition of Vietnam by using gas fuel for power generation. The entire project is expected to entail an investment of $12bn.
Block B Project Location
Blocks B, 48/95 & 52/97 (Block B) is located offshore in Malay-Tho Chu basin in Vietnam’s continental shelf. These blocks cover 3,200km2 of area.
The site lies around 330km off the coast Ca Mau coastline and about 400km from O Mon Electricity Centre. Average water depths ranges from 60-80m.
Background
The initial plans to develop the Block B-O Mon was made by Chevron, PVEP, MVP and MSVP joint ventures, and PTTEP subsidiaries. A disagreement occurred among the partners over the gas prices.
This delayed the development of the project.
The complete ownership in Block B, Block 48/95, and Block 52/97 was acquired by PVP from Chevron in June 2015.
Initially, gross gas reserves were estimated at approximately six trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas and four thousand cubic metres (mcm) of condensate.
The 2P recoverable gas reserves were 3.78tcf and two mcm of condensate.
Block B Gas Project Details
Initially, Chevron built a three-phase development plan for the project. Phase one was planned to have a central processing platform, a living quarter platform, a flare boom with connecting bridges, five wellhead platforms, infield pipelines, and a Floating Storage Unit (FSO).
Phases two and three were planned to have over 40 wellhead platforms. The first well was scheduled for drilling in 2017.
Currently, the $6.8bn upstream development of the Block B Project will comprise the development of a gas field, including gas fields in blocks B, 48/95, and 52/97, by drilling of 37 pre-production wells and 861 production wells over 20-year project life.
The development will also include a central processing platform, 46 operations platforms, a housing platform, and a condensate vessel.
The field have an expected production capacity of 490 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d) or 84,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) of gas during plateau period.
Block B-O Mon Gas Pipeline Details
The $1.2bn midstream development of the Block B Project will comprise a 433km long pipeline (330km offshore and 103km onshore).
The development will also include a Kien Giang Gas Distribution Station (GDS), an O Mon Gas Distribution Centre (GDC), Liquid Filling Stations (LFS), and Liquid Bullet Valve (LBV) stations along pipelines.
The 330km offshore pipeline will supply gas from the field development to a landfall in An Minh/Kien Giang Province.
The 103km long and 30-inch diameter onshore pipeline will supply gas from the field development to power plants at Kien Giang and O Mon Power Centres in Can Tho Province.
The landfall at Mui Tram will be connected by a branch pipeline of 18-inch diameter to supplement gas for the PM3-Ca Mau pipeline.
Gas from the upstream project will be transported via pipeline to the O Mon district area ( Can Tho City) and further to the O Mon 1, 2, 3, and 4 power plants with a capacity of around 3,180MW.
The pipeline will have a maximum transport capacity of 640 million standard cubic feet per day (mmcf/d) or approximately 110,000 boe/d of gas.
Contracts and Agreements
The Engineering, Procurement, Fabrication, Installation for Wellhead Platform, and infield Pipeline Systems (EPCI) contract for the upstream part has been awarded to Petrovietnam Technical M&C (PTSC M&C, a subsidiary of PTSC), in 2024. The contract has a value of around $300m.
In March 2024, three agreements were signed for the project. The first one was a Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) between Petrovietnam, PVEP, MOECO (Japan), and PTTEP (Thailand) and Power Generation Corporation 2- EVNGENCO2 (the buyer).
The GSPA entails that approximately 1.265 billion cubic metres per year (bcm/y) of gas would be delivered to the O Mon 1 Power Plant during the stable stage.
The second contract was a Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) to transport gas from the upstream project to the terminal in Kien Giang and O Mon.
The third was a Tie-in, Operation, and Service Agreement (TOSA) contract signed between the gas owner of Petrovietnam, PVEP, MOECO, PTTEP and the transporter of PV GAS, Petrovietnam, MOECO, PTTEP.
The joint venture of PTSC and LILAMA 18, a Vietnamese EPC contractor, was contracted for an EPC contract valued at $1.277bn for the pipeline project in December 2023.
The contract scope includes the construction of pipeline system with GDS, LFS, and LBV.
In October 2023, a consortium of McDermott International and PTSC received a limited letter of award, valued more than $1bn, from PQPOC for the EPCI, Hook Up and Commissioning (HUC) for the upstream project.
The scope of the contract includes EPCI and HUC for the central processing platform, living quarters, bridges, and flare tower for the project. The contract work commenced in early 2024.
The Project Management Support Services (PMSS) contract for the project was awarded to PVD Invest, a subsidiary of Petrovietnam Drilling and Well Service (PV Drilling), in March 2023.
The PMSS framework contract for the project was also signed by the operator of the project with Petrovietnam Joint Stock Company (PSL Vietnam)-Orion joint venture in May 2023. The value of the contract was over $50m for the project life.
PSL Vietnam is a Vietnam based logistics company and Orion is a recruitment services provider.
The coating services for the pipeline will be provided by Petrovietnam Coating Joint Stock (PV Coating), a company operating under PVN.
